


To Be Garbed In Black and White

by soulnight114



Series: The Wonderful World of Gensokyo [1]
Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:15:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24710671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soulnight114/pseuds/soulnight114
Summary: The everyday life of an ordinary magician and her interactions with the people around her.
Series: The Wonderful World of Gensokyo [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1786531
Kudos: 3





	To Be Garbed In Black and White

Trekking through the depths of the Forest of Magic was never an easy affair for a variety of reasons. It was because of these reasons that even Marisa had to take extensive preparations any time she decided to take a trip to find some rare reagents.

Reason number one was that you couldn't fly in the Forest of Magic, not without something really bad happening to you at the very least. Not being to fly was hassle, mostly because she was pretty damn good at it. She was the (purported) fastest of Gensokyo after all for a time. Flying gave her incredible mobility that could never be compared to having to run on her own two feet. It made getting around easier and was a major part of her evasive and defensive tactics. She still possessed plenty of firepower with the Hakkero and a well-stocked satchel around her waist but there was no denying she was more vulnerable without use of her broom.

Reason number two was the miasma that was constantly emitted by the Forest. Though she adapted to the miasma around her house, it got noticeably thicker the deeper you went in. Thick enough that not even Alice or Patchoulli could go in unaffected. Marisa had to be careful that she didn't get too deep or hit a particularly bad patch of it. Overexposure would likely knock her unconscious and that was pretty much a one=way ticket to meeting with the Yama in this place. As it was now the miasma was still taking its toll on her body, she was more noticeably short of breath and was going through her cleansing potions a slightly faster rate than she expected.

Reason number three was the wildlife. Lots of weird, interesting, and oftentimes dangerous creatures would end up dwelling within the depths of the Forests. And these weren't just feral beast Youkai, those were easy enough to deal with. No, she was talking about living plants, volatile elementals, very loud shrieking wraiths, and a giant underground worm tentacle monster that had nearly grabbed her at one point from a tunnel it had dug. She didn't what that last thing was, and she didn't want to think about what it would've done if she hadn't blown it to bits with Hakkero before it could catch her.

Finally, and perhaps the most important reason of all, was that it was insanely easy to get lost in the Forest. Compasses didn't work and the thick miasma tended to mess with one's sense of direction. This made recognizing and marking what landmarks you could incredibly important if you were going to find your way out.

And Marisa did do that. She wasn't an idiot, despite what Alice or Patchouli might say. However, she might've taken a wrong turn around that giant red mushroom because there was no denying that she was now lost. Hopelessly and utterly lost.

Granted this wasn't the first time it had happened, but she was a lot deeper in the forest than she had previously been. That would only make it even more difficult and dangerous to find her way back.

"Where am I?" Marisa muttered as she pushed her braid aside. The ribbon that she used to tie it had gotten dirty and torn. She would have to have Kourin fix it when she got back. Of course, he would nag a bit but that was worth getting his free labor.

Assuming she would get back. It would certainly be a waste if she didn't, especially considering the massive haul that she had gathered on this expedition. There were a lot rare plants and mushrooms in her bag that would go bad if she didn't store them at her house soon.

"Ze."

It was annoying but the situation wasn't completely hopeless. There was still a way for her to find her way back.

The magician turned toward a particularly large tree, its trunk easily five times wider than she was. If she could climb to the top of one of the taller trees, then there was a good chance she'd find something familiar in the distance.

She cracked her neck and stretched her limbs. Best to limber up before a climb, or at least that was what she remembered from the last time she had tried to climb a tree. Which was about six years ago.

It wasn't like she had much need for the skill once she had learned to fly.

Marisa walked up to the largest tree nearby and put her feet against its bark. It only took seconds for her to find a foot hold and begin her climb.

Apparently, she was still quite a natural at this. Not that that was a surprise for a magician like her.

It was actually quite timing that she had chosen that moment to start climbing. About halfway up the tree she noticed a large pounding underneath her.

Marisa glanced back and saw a very large and very black lizard thing heading straight for her. That only encouraged her to go even faster as she scrambled to sit on a nearby branch, hopefully out of reach of monster had found her.

It had a large reptilian form, scales of a familiar jet black color, limbs that were muscular and chunky, and a back was lined with some particularly sharp looking spikes. This thing definitely wasn't a dragon. It didn't have wings nor the regal look you'd expect a dragon to have, though it could certainly be a distant relative. A drooling, violent, and very dumb distant relative judging by how it was bashing its head against the tree.

Well, it wasn't like you could choose your family. Just whether or not you would associate with them.

She watched calmly as the beast slammed itself against the trunk of the tree in an attempt to shake her off. The tree was sturdy though and the most Marisa felt was some mild vibrations coming up the trunk.

Despite being dumb it was certainly a persistent thing. It kept bashing itself against the tree for at least five minutes before it would finally give up and instead prowl along the base of the tree. Its claws were wickedly sharp leaving deep gashes against the bark of the tree.

"Too bad for you," she jeered at the creature. It probably wasn't the smartest idea to egg it on but what it could possibly do to her from this distance?

The beast suddenly arched its back and pointed its spikes in her direction. That wasn't good.

Marisa moved quickly, just barely dodging the spikes that had been shot at her direction. It was a close call too, a few of them had grazed her and left jagged tears in her dress.

"Well that's just rude," she mumbled to herself as she dodged the next set of spikes by jumping onto another branch. She quickly repositioned herself on the new branch and took out the Hakkero.

Hopefully a spell or two would probably be enough to kill it or chase it away.

"Star Sign, Meteo-"

A large chunk of wood suddenly knocked into her outstretched hand causing Marisa to lose her grip on her prized weapon. She quickly scrambled to retrieve and was able to grab it before it fell out of reach. Unfortunately, it came at the cost of her balance and she only had about a second to regret her decision before she slid off the branch and hurtled to the ground.

The beast's opened its mouth wide, clearly eager to catch her in its teeth.

Left with no other recourse Marisa decided to solve this problem the way she solved most problems. With raw firepower.

"Love Sign-," she pointed at its gaping maw and waited and she was mere feet away from it. "Master Spark!"

A beam of pure dazzling light and power erupted from the Hakkero and consumed the monster's body in a near instant. The force of the spell then propelled her enough that she was able land neatly onto another branch

Marisa then used the force of the spell to propel herself backwards and land neatly onto another branch.

"Thank you. Thank you." The magician bowed to an imaginary audience.

The branch under Marisa's feet broke. She tried to proper herself with a spell again only to be interrupted by another branch slamming into her back as she fell.

"Ow"

She then hit the ground, stomach first.

"Oooowwww…" Marisa groaned with her face buried in the dirt.

She pushed herself off the ground and tried to ignore the pain that permeated her entire body as she made her way to the still smoking corpse of the monster she had just killed. Considering the trouble it had given her, it would a be a waste not to try and gather some parts from it to use for magic. She quickly gave up on the thought halfway there and instead decided to sit down against a nearby tree.

The magician closed her eyes and tried to get what rest she could.

Everything hurt and she still had to find the damn way home.

"Pleasure meeting you again Miss Marisa."

Marisa didn't even need to open her eyes to know who it was. It had actually been a few years since they had last met and it was only for a brief moment at best, but it was certainly hard to forget someone like him. And considering that monster's presence it was very likely that he had been involved in some way

"What did you do and why are you here dragon?" she said as she cracked an eye open and reached into her satchel for an explosive potion.

What was once a white snake had now taken on the form of black dragon a few years back. Though it not much larger than it was when they last met, probably only a few extra inches at most.

"Nothing yet. It was actually a coincidence that we met here. I wasn't planning on visiting until a few more centuries when I was fully grown," the self-purported evil replied calmly.

"I'd be dead by then."

"Really? You humans have such short lives."

Marisa let go of the potion and instead put her hands on her lap. She didn't hold any particular hatred for the dragon and apparently it wasn't aiming to fight her. Though it had deceived in order to acquire its power, it did give her one of its fangs as a reward.

"You still haven't answered my second question," Marisa said.

"I was searching for that beast," the dragon waved a wing toward the dead monster.

"Was that your handiwork?"

"One of my predecessor's actually. A beast that happened to be exposed to some of its power that it had left behind. I was planning to accelerate my growth by disposing of it and taking it's power for myself," the dragon looked at Marisa, "though it seems you made that task much simpler."

"Heh, you're welcome," Marisa said as she slowly picked herself up. It took all her willpower to not moan in front of the dragon.

"Are you alright? You seem to be in pain."

"Oh, this is nothing," Marisa waved him off as she tried to take a few uneasy steps, only to give up and sit back down. "Ok, maybe I am hurting a little"

The dragon shook its head in what seemed to be a disapproving manner. "You might be quite capable, but you're still human. You should exercise caution when you fight."

"I'm a magician. I can handle myself."

"Yet you still have a human body."

"Which I can give up anytime I want."

The dragon cocked its head. "Then why don't you? Magicians I recollect are quite long lived and don't require things such as sustenance or sleep. Quite convenient qualities to have I would say."

"I just don't feel like it."

"Rather contradictory to call yourself a magician yet refuse to become one."

"Unlike Youkai, humans can be contrary to our nature."

"That still doesn't answer my question."

"Ze." Marisa crossed her arms and glanced away. "Well maybe I don't want to answer it."

The dragon stared at her for a few seconds before eventually turning back toward the monster. "I shall not press you then. Now if you'll excuse me, I shall go consume that beast for myself."

Marisa grinned. "Hey, that's my kill. My corpse to use. Can't let you take it for nothing."

The dragon glanced back at her. "This was indeed your hunt… what will it take then for me to have this part."

"Another fang? Or perhaps some scales will do."

"Perhaps you should be asking for an escort back? You aren't in any state to get home by yourself."

She waved him off. "I'll be fine, I know my body better than you do. Besides how would you be able to carry me back when you're so small?"

The dragon looked down at its body before looking back up at her. "This is a form I take in order to conserve my energy. Outside of it I've grown enough to be able to carry you." It leaned in closer and leered at her. "It would be a waste to have you die here."

"Of course, it would. I'm Gensokyo's number two after all," Marisa replied confidently. "…though I guess it would be convenient to have you carry me and my stuff back," she admitted.

"So, an escort back will be your payment for this creature's corpse?"

"Yea. I agree to that. By the way how can you fly in the Forest of Magic?"

"The miasma of this place has little effect on a being such as me."

"You can fly me back easily then once you're done eating that monster over there. Don't take too long though, best not to keep a girl waiting," Marisa said cheekily.

"Indeed," the dragon spread its wing wide, "we have tarried here long enough." It leaped into the air and pounced on the corpse of the monster.

Marisa held back her vomit and looked away from the sight. That dragon was definitely a messy eater.


End file.
